Recipe for Disaster

I have wanted to write about this for a while, but needed some time to digest everything I saw and experienced. I spent a week in Fort Worth, TX as a public affairs associate, covering the North Texas floods. It was surreal. There were entire communities that were water logged. People had lost everything and it called to my attention the real reason I was there.

As public affairs professionals, we are trained to deal with media, conduct interviews and do lots of writing. We talk A LOT mostly because it's in our nature. While I was in Texas, I learned to listen, and it was humbling to say the least. Seeing all the people affected by the floods was an eye opening experience. I saw people in Horseshoe Bend, TX who had nothing but were still giving everything to their small community. I saw a woman who had six children whose roof was caving in because of the torrential rains and she thought she had no where to turn, but the organization I work for was there giving her shelter, food and comfort. I saw compassion at its finest.

I listened. I listened and I learned that flooding can destroy homes, but it can't destroy a person's spirit or a communities spirit for that matter.

It's a fine balance- knowing when to say what to a flood victim. But, sometimes you don't have to say anything at all.

Instead of me going on and on about this, I think pictures tell the story a little better.